Clandestiny
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Clandestiny, The 7th Guest, The 11th Hour |
Clandestiny, launched in 1996 by Virgin Games and developed by Trilobyte, is a computer puzzle game that utilizes video-based content. After the commercial failure of The 11th Hour, Trilobyte altered its approach, focusing on producing a more child-friendly follow-up to The 7th Guest. The game saw a re-release on the Mac App Store in January 2011.
Gameplay
As Trilobyte’s third puzzle-oriented release, Clandestiny blends first-person exploration with third-person animated sequences rendered in a cartoon style. Players move through a castle environment solving various logic puzzles, interspersed with animated story segments that advance the plot, much like in The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour. The main character uncovers family mysteries with assistance from supporting characters who offer valuable hints.
The challenges range from maze navigation and chess puzzles to word games and logical reasoning tasks, which grow more difficult as players progress through interconnected rooms accompanied by narrative animations.
Plot
The narrative centers on Andrew J. MacPhiles (voiced by W. Morgan Sheppard), who inherits a Scottish castle, an earldom, and an accompanying curse. Together with his girlfriend Paula—an aspiring Countess—and their handyman Fergus, Andrew faces a malevolent entity intent on seizing the ancient MacPhiles heritage.
As they explore the castle, it becomes clear that the curse originates from acts of cowardice; spirits recount their own or relatives’ tragic demises linked to such failings. Andrew uncovers that the butler is actually a dragon adversary hunting for the Stone of Scone, a potent magical relic concealed within the estate.
In the end, Andrew triumphs over the dragon and secures the Stone of Scone, though the castle is ultimately destroyed. While departing with Paula and Fergus, only Fergus notices that the ghosts of the MacPhiles ancestors are accompanying them.
Development
Originally named "Castle," the game’s backgrounds were produced using Autodesk 3D software. Character creation and animation were handled with Cambridge Animation Systems' Animo, which also supported initial sketches prior to rendering in Autodesk. The extensive number of images required dedicated storage capacity.
Reception
Clandestiny was met with favorable critiques, earning an A− score from PC Games. The title achieved sales of roughly 20,000 copies.